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Dallas Stars Come Alive In Third, Rally To Down Sabres 4-3 – Post Game

By Josh Clark |

12. Final. 4. 119. 3

The Dallas Stars led their fan base down another rocky and heart-wrenching path Monday night in Dallas against the NHL’s worst team, the Buffalo Sabres. After overcoming three different one-goal deficits, Cody Eakin found the game winner in the final minutes as the Stars gained another two points in their quest for a playoff spot and downed the Sabres 4-3 at the American Airlines Center.

Game recap

The Dallas Stars began the first period a bit different than how they had previously beginning their games. The Stars looked rather lazy and careless, not attempting to get many odd man rushes or regular rushes for that matter. The Stars and Sabres merely tossed the puck back and forth, took some sketchy “chances” at the net, but no side could crack the opposition. Things remained scoreless until 6:21 left in the first period, when the Stars got caught on a bad defensive shift and gave an open lane for a shot. Kari Lehtonen was able to find the save but could not corral it and Brian Gionta found an open rebound in front of the crease. Gionta rammed it home quick and gave the Sabres the 1-0 lead. Marcus Foligno and Mikhail Grigorenko were credited with the assists on the lone Buffalo goal. The Stars answered by drawing two penalties in succession with 5:07 and 3:05 remaining in the third, but their power play could not find the back of the net against the worst penalty killing team in the league. With just :29 seconds to go, Patrick Eaves found a puck on the blue line and sent it sailing through an opening. Jamie Benn got a piece of it in front of the net and ruined Anders Lindback’s shutout bid at 16 shots. Benn scored his 25th, with Eaves and Patrik Nemeth gaining credit for the helpers. At the end of the first period, the Stars and Sabres were tied 1-1 with the Stars leading the shot advantage 17-9 and Lindback being the prime suspect on “troll watch.”

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    • Wow the second period was a disappointing one. Coming out of the break after scoring a late goal, the Dallas Stars once again began coasting to start the second frame. After just 3:14 of play and being outshot 9-0, Colton Sceviour was called for tripping near center ice, putting the weakest NHL power play unit on the job. They found a few great chances, but the Stars were able to stay afloat and complete the kill. With 9:49 remaining in the second, Brett Ritchie went to the box to serve a too many men on the ice penalty, leading to the Sabres’ second chance. The Sabres found a way to deflect the puck off three ankles in front of the net with 8:53 left in the second and score to take the 2-1 lead. The goal was credited to Gionta again, and the assists were given to Matt Moulson and Johan Larsson. They attempted to turn the heat back up, but it was of no use as the Stars found themselves down 2-1 at the end of the second. The Sabres had blocked 32 shots through two. In a must-win game for the Stars, they did not look like they would be able to pull it out. In the last game against Buffalo, the Stars trailed entering the third and put on a show, but never found the equalizer…

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    • Well, the third period was a massive rollercoaster for the Dallas Stars and their fans. It started with, you guessed it, an early Stars push. Just :54 seconds into the third period, Tyson Strachan batted a puck into the stands and went to the box on a delay of game penalty. With 18:04 remaining, Jamie Benn found the back of the net for the second time of the night and brought the game back to level at 2 a piece. Alex Goligoski was given the assist on the Benn PPG. At 13:46, Brett Ritchie was called for cross checking but the Stars successfully killed the penalty off. As the halfway mark passed, Tyler Ennis found the puck in the zone and rang one off the crossbar that came back down next to an unknowing Kari Lehtonen. Matt Moulson found it and nudged it past Lehtonen’s pad to take the lead back for Buffalo. Most Dallas Stars fans decided to quit after this goal. But the Dallas Stars themselves were just getting started. Just 1:35 later, Ennis crept into the Stars zone as part of a cherry picking play and missed. The Stars quickly turned the momentum and took it with force into Buffalo’s zone. There, Benn gave a slick pass over to Tyler Seguin who spanked it towards Lindback. The puck caught Patrick Eaves in the back in front of the net and deflected in, tying the game back up at 3-3. Seguin and Benn were granted the assists. With less than four minutes to play, John Klingberg slid along the right boards and mad a sharp charge towards the net. He deferred to Cody Eakin with a swift pass and Eakin rammed it home for his career-high 17th goal of the season. The Dallas Stars snagged the 4-3 lead and held it in their grasp to the final horn.

    Thoughts and Observations

    The Dallas Stars have now won three straight. These three wins all came at home, improving the Stars home record to 16-14-8 inside the American Airlines Center this season.

    The Stars had a meltdown on the special teams tonight it seems. While they went 1/3 on the power play and 2/3 on the penalty kill, it was against the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres own the worst power play and penalty kill percentage in the league. The Stars should have been at least 2/3 on the power play and 3/3 on the PK.

    The Stars had a bit of a 180 during their three game winning streak. It is rather odd how they handily defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks, two teams that are in playoff position, yet they had some serious and frightening trouble against the NHL’s worst team. Go figure, but it’s still six points.

    The Stars win counteracted the Colorado Avalanche loss and San Jose loss, so the Dallas Stars are now tenth place in the Western Conference. So there is some good news, but they still remain eight points out of the final wild card spot and nine out of the first. It is disappointing that the Stars have yet to be able to gain ground because of Winnipeg and Minnesota continuing their win streaks as well…

    The Stars will now head out on the Western Canadian swing, with an 8-2-0 record in their last ten games. They will now face off with two red-hot teams, the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, along with a tanking team in the Edmonton Oilers. It is difficult to still have to say that the Stars MUST win all three games to stay alive, considering Winnipeg and Minnesota’s mindsets to not lose anytime soon.

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